Reactions of recoil-implanted tritium with stilbene and benzoin using a thin film technique

Recoil-implanted tritium reactions have been studied in thin films of trans-stilbene and benzoin using gas-solid reaction systems involving 3He and the organics on mylar films. The implanted tritium atoms were incorporated in the stilbene molecule with nearly statistical distribution. The parent yield decreased with increase of implantation energy. In case of an optical isomer of benzoin the parent yield also decreased with increase of implantation energy, while the inversion yield slightly increased with an increase in energy. The inversion mechanism in this system could not be explained as a Walden type one, but this reaction could be understood by considering a new mechanism which involved a tritium trap at the benzene ring followed by de-excitation leading to inversion. (orig.)